More than three billion prescriptions are written each year in the United States, and an estimated $18 billion is spent on over-the-counter medications. Both prescription and over-the-counter medications are intended to be consumed by a patient according to specific instructions for dosage and frequency. The purpose of the medication may be to help the patient achieve progress towards a certain goal. For example, the purpose of the medication may be to reduce blood pressure, reduce (or gain) weight, alleviate joint pain, increase concentration, regulate blood sugar, and the like.
A prescribing health care provider may instruct the patient to keep certain records of information related to measuring progress toward the goal. For example, the patient may be instructed to measure and record blood pressure at certain times of the day while consuming the medication. Both the patient and the health care provider may use this recorded information to gauge progress toward a goal of achieving lower blood pressure.
Maintaining records of patient information may involve writing the information in a notebook or on a piece of paper, or even entry of the information into an electronic database. Over a period of time, the patient may tend to forget about recording the information, lose the notebook or paper, or may not even begin recording the information. An absence of the recorded patient information may deprive the healthcare provider and the patient of valuable information for determining the effects of the medication and proper future course of treatment, resulting in less effective treatment and increased burden on the healthcare system.